A tyre of a truck carrying 14,000 litres of oil was slashed 12 times, putting the life of the driver and other motorists in danger, the owner says.
The truck driver had parked the unit outside his property in Kamo and made the discovery on Saturday morning. While he haddone a visual check of the tyres before heading off, it wasn't until he was driving that the cuts opened up and the air was released.
Fortunately he was travelling slowly and had only gone a short distance. The driver was scheduled to travel to his Auckland base but had to have the $1000 month-old tyre changed urgently.
The number of victims involved in a tyre-slashing spree in Whangārei over Friday night and early Saturday morning had risen to 65 yesterday. During the same period three cars were also set on fire.
Owner of the rig and Salters Cartage Ltd based in Auckland, Ron Salter said the stabbing of the tyre had the potential to cause a fatality.
"This was more than a childish act, this was done by someone with stupid intentions. This had the potential to cause a fatality.
"If it rolled on a corner on the Brynderwyns or worse still hit someone head-on it could have been catastrophic. They might have thought it was humorous but what would they think if it was their family in the other car?"
Salter said they must have used some force to stab the tyre as it was constructed to withstand 8 tonnes of weight and the force of the pressure in the tyre - 120psi compared to a car tyre of 30psi - could kill.
He hoped by speaking out about the potentially fatal damage done to the tyre it might trigger a memory of someone who might have seen something suspicious.
"I hope they catch them. I would just like to see it stop. The community needs to identify who they are and the police need the tools and the help to find them."
• If you can help police identify those responsible, contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, or David Hamilton at Whangārei police station on (09) 430 4500.
